Best Mac Friendly PDAs/ smartphones :confused:

[wilburdl]

I'm sure I'm not the only one thinking abou gettign a smartphone. I've had my eye on the Blackberry personally (seeing as it looks like the best option on TMobile). But this whole quest to find a good smartphone has me thinking about a lot of things.
I dig the new Samsung Blackjack but it's under Cingular and I don't know if buying an unlocked version of the phone would work with TM.
Then I thought--even if I got a new sleek techno-phone, how difficult would it be to get those nice features to work with my mac.
So I pose these questions to you Mac/tech savvy folks out there who've dealt with compatibility and all the other issues with finding a good smartphone.

 

[ITASOR]

From what I've read, the thing that will sync the best with Macs are Treos (Palm OS). They make software to sync Windows Mobile and I THINK BlackBerry's too, but I don't know how good they work.

If you have an intel Mac, running Windows in Parallels is always an option to get data on/off your smartphone.

 

[janitorC7]

From what I've read, the thing that will sync the best with Macs are Treos (Palm OS). They make software to sync Windows Mobile and I THINK BlackBerry's too, but I don't know how good they work.

If you have an intel Mac, running Windows in Parallels is always an option to get data on/off your smartphone.

its my markspace
its called the missing sync

http://www.markspace.com/

works great

 

[question fear]

I'm sure I'm not the only one thinking abou gettign a smartphone. I've had my eye on the Blackberry personally (seeing as it looks like the best option on TMobile). But this whole quest to find a good smartphone has me thinking about a lot of things.

Which blackberry? The pearl is supposed to be awesome, its very tiny. The only real issue is the suretype keyboard, which sort of "guesses" which of the two letters you wanted, and then matches from there. It's supposed to be very smart, but just consider that it might be slow going for a few day on it. Play with one in-store and try it out.

I dig the new Samsung Blackjack but it's under Cingular and I don't know if buying an unlocked version of the phone would work with TM.
Then I thought--even if I got a new sleek techno-phone, how difficult would it be to get those nice features to work with my mac.

The unlocked version would be hella expensive. Also, the blackjack is a damn cool phone, but one of it's biggest selling points is that it works with 3G data on Cingular, something that won't work on T-Mobile since they do not have a broadband data network. If you aren't going to use it on Cingular, I'd recommend you get a T-Mo Dash, which is effectively the same as a Blackjack but with a slightly bigger screen and wifi-same operating system, qwerty kb, etc. Also, if you need to use T-Mo, it would be significantly better bang for your buck than an unlocked BJ.
Also a good choice would be a Treo. Unless you REALLY want Windows Mobile and are looking to drop 600+ dollars, your only unlocked Treo option would be a 680, which is 399 unlocked from Palm. I've heard of many people using it with no issues on T-Mo. As a rule, unlocked phones should work fine on either Cingy or T-Mo, but you might need to call and get the settings for internet browsing if your SIM card can't get the phone to d/l them automatically.
As the earlier poster mentioned, Missing Sync works very well, and there are versions for both Palm and WinMob. If you want to just sync your calendar, contacts and an occasional program on Palm OS, Missing Sync is probably too much. If you want to play mp3s, etc, Missing Sync has a much nicer and cleaner way of getting that stuff on Macs.
You will need Missing Sync no matter what for WinMob, and there's another program (Pocket Mac, I think) that does Blackberry-->Mac sync.
I've done some Winmob syncing on an old ibook, and it's not bad. It's actually a very smooth process, so except for the occasional program wrapped in .exe, Missing Sync should handle it fine. And for those, if you email the developer really nicely, they'll usually send the .cab file from what i've read. (.cab is the Windows Mobile file extension.)

So I pose these questions to you Mac/tech savvy folks out there who've dealt with compatibility and all the other issues with finding a good smartphone.

Hope this was helpful. FYI, I use a Palm Treo 650, and any issues I've had have been across the board all OS issues, or user error.

 

[tkidBOSTON]

Which blackberry? The pearl is supposed to be awesome, its very tiny. The only real issue is the suretype keyboard, which sort of "guesses" which of the two letters you wanted, and then matches from there. It's supposed to be very smart, but just consider that it might be slow going for a few day on it. Play with one in-store and try it out.

Suretype works very well. Trying it in store may not be the best choice cause it does take a bit of getting used to. But it is very accurate and very fast-- I wouldnt count it as a negative against buying the phone.

 

[question fear]

Suretype works very well. Trying it in store may not be the best choice cause it does take a bit of getting used to. But it is very accurate and very fast-- I wouldnt count it as a negative against buying the phone.

Aha. Thanks for the correction. I've never used it, only seen it mentioned in reviews, and it seems to be a love-it-or-hate-it kind of thing.

 

[wilburdl]

Thanks for the replies. Another question--say I get this unlocked phone or TM Blackberry--will I be able to use it with my existing TM plan?

 

[question fear]

Thanks for the replies. Another question--say I get this unlocked phone or TM Blackberry--will I be able to use it with my existing TM plan?

Yes. Your existing T-Mo plan will work fine. You just take your SIM card from your old phone, pop it into your new one, and you're all set. The only caveat is that you might need to upgrade if you want push email from the T-Mo blackberry service. But if you're not looking for instant email, you won't need to change anything to get going on the phone. Does that make sense?

 

[wilburdl]

Yes. Your existing T-Mo plan will work fine. You just take your SIM card from your old phone, pop it into your new one, and you're all set. The only caveat is that you might need to upgrade if you want push email from the T-Mo blackberry service. But if you're not looking for instant email, you won't need to change anything to get going on the phone. Does that make sense?

It does. And thanks for all the clarifications. Now I have to figure out Blackberry or Treo

 

[GfPQqmcRKUvP]

...unlocked version would be hella expensive...

Not a word.

 

[GfPQqmcRKUvP]

And to actually contribute to the thread:

I just got a Blackjack and I love it. It syncs up perfectly with my Powerbook. The only limitation is that you can't install programs if they aren't in .cab format, you have to create a guest partnership on a windows pc if you want to do .exe

 

[madog]

pocketmac for phones that don't 'normally' sync up to a mac.

 

[yg17]

Wirelessly posted (BlackBerry8100/4.2.0 Profile/MIDP-2.0 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/100)

Which blackberry? The pearl is supposed to be awesome, its very tiny. The only real issue is the suretype keyboard, which sort of "guesses" which of the two letters you wanted, and then matches from there. It's supposed to be very smart, but just consider that it might be slow going for a few day on it. Play with one in-store and try it out.

Suretype works very well. Trying it in store may not be the best choice cause it does take a bit of getting used to. But it is very accurate and very fast-- I wouldnt count it as a negative against buying the phone.

I got a pearl yesterday and suretype works very well. I've already gotten used to it and its pretty accurate.

The phone is awesome, I love it. I see why they call it crackberry, I haven't been able to put mine down.

 

[yg17]

Yes. Your existing T-Mo plan will work fine. You just take your SIM card from your old phone, pop it into your new one, and you're all set. The only caveat is that you might need to upgrade if you want push email from the T-Mo blackberry service. But if you're not looking for instant email, you won't need to change anything to get going on the phone. Does that make sense?

With the Blackberry and T-Mo, I strongly recommend getting the $20/month Blackberry addon plan. It gives you push e-mail (which you may or may not want) but it also gives you unlimited internet access, which IMO, is a must. Without it, your Blackberry's nothing more than a regular camera phone.

Plus, that allows you to tether it to your Mac via Bluetooth, so if you're ever somewhere without internet access, you can use your BB as a modem. Granted, it's slow, but better than nothing.

 

[Aniej]

Suretype works very well. Trying it in store may not be the best choice cause it does take a bit of getting used to. But it is very accurate and very fast-- I wouldnt count it as a negative against buying the phone.

That is a significant over statement regarding the accuracy of suretype. It is unquestionably a vast improvement from system developed even three years ago, but it still has a fair number of issues. Specifically, in a business context suretype is very unreliable. While it is nice to think you will always check to see that the word came out just as you wanted when suretype completes, but we rarely do when typing quickly such as responding when in a rushed situation. Anyway, without going further, I would just recommend that you are cognizant of the context in which you will be using the phone.

 

[wilburdl]

I may just wait.
While studying up on the pros and cons of each and getting a firm grasp on what unlocked smartphones work on a T-Mobile network--I came across the upcoming blackberry 88xx. Looks promising and actually comes with a camera and Wi-Fi. Sounds like a Treo beater--and Blackjack too And one appears headed for TM!

http://www.blackberrycool.com/2006/09/29/002378/

http://www.gizmodo.com/gadgets/smartphones/blackberry-8800-spotted-spec-list-too-205743.php

 

[wilburdl]

Update

Hello all. Thanks for the replies. I ended up purchasing an unlocked Treo 680 and I liked it.. at first. But the battery life is a joke.

Scheduling was my favorite function and pocket tunes. But the GUI was a bit dated. I couldn't sync my bluetooth headset (which is a must) and I forgot to turn the phone on. I found my self using my TMo samsung for phone calls and my 680 for planning and web surfing (switching the SIM card back and forth).

Needless to say I wanted one phone not 2. It's going back. I wanted to like it-it looks very nice and sophisticated but lacking in key areas. Oh well back to the drawing board.